Audio Reference Technology Room Tuning Cones and L.F.E.

As impressed as I am with what can be done with the cones, I am equally excited about the LFE box. I’ve always wished I could get the same bloom in the bass registers of my Teresonic Ingenium speakers that I get in the mid-range. I have tried several sub woofers over the years and have never found one that didn’t sound incoherent when mated with the speed of the Teresonic Ingeniums. The A.R.T Low-Frequency Effect unit was able to achieve this without any of the negative effects of subs and to my hearing, without any loss in transparency.

ART Low Frequency Effect XLR

Yes, it is an active device and while the people from A.R.T. don’t want to call it an equalizer, I don’t know what else to call it. On their website they say, “Most audio equipment operates below its optimum, with regard to bandwidth and tone quality, which is truly a great loss to the consumers. Even with some excellent stereo systems with frequencies that extend into the low 20Hz range, one cannot hear the bass properly because of echo, the length of the sound wave, or because the power amplifier can’t control the bass on its own.

A.R.T. Low Frequency Effect is designed to solve all these problems. You will not only experience fantastic low frequency, but the whole bandwidth will be amazingly open and wide. The roundness and the purity of the tenor, the clarity and profoundness of the bass, and the three-dimensional compass are so lovely; you will never want to be without it again.”

I don’t know what to say about those two paragraphs, but I know I love what it does for the sound of my system. As I write this, I’m sitting here listening to Cat Stevens’ live concert recording. I went to this concert in the ‘70s and I can tell you this is the closest I have ever come to the dynamics and emotional experience of that night. I need to say the LFE doesn’t give my speakers the ability to plummet the depths of a sub. What it does do though, is give me a more natural bloom in the upper bass and more power in the 30 to 50-hertz regions. By the way, if you are worried about using an equalizer in your system, don’t forget that if you listen to vinyl, you already have an equalizer in your phono stage.

I know these products aren’t inexpensive, but they are worth every dime they cost! There are lots of room tuning devices out there. You can use the A.R.T. products in combinations with others if you wish, but you may not need to. One of the things I really like is that all of the turning cones go around or between the speakers; not all over the room. If your system is nearly where you want it, I highly recommend these. I simply am amazed at what they did for my musical enjoyment!

ART LFE RCA